"Let. Me. See him," Draco repeated, his words stretched deliberately to relay his angry determination.

"We haven't even talked to him ourselves yet," Ron protested, "And Minister Shackel-"

"The Minister is preoccupied," Malfoy spat, "And as per our original agreement-"

"An agreement that you destroyed by bringing my brother's murderer along!" the redhead growled, stepping closer to the ex-deatheater.

Harry had been casually observing, arms resting behind his head as he leaned back in his desk chair. The young Malfoy had all-but barged into their office that morning before any plans for the day could be made. He started somewhat emotionally with stating how the aurors had finally arrested Gerald, but once he jumped to assuming he'd be able to talk to his father's murderer directly, things had become heated.

He had apparently already contacted the Minister only to be told the man was busy and that the investigations department was in charge of the case. Thanks, Shackelbolt, Harry thought. Nonetheless, the decision to let Draco accompany them to Gerald's cell that day had been left to them. And while the lead auror let his partner get out some of his frustration with Malfoy, he had been silently considering letting the Slytherin tag along.

"Ron?" Harry called for the other auror's attention.

The redhead slowly took his gaze from his verbal opponent and strolled over to where his friend sat and bent over the desk, "Are you saying we should let him?" he guessed with a whisper.

"We'll have plenty of time to speak with Gerald alone," Harry mused, "We don't know what effect Draco's presence will have, but we know Gerald's not good under pressure. And we may not keep the chance for having Malfoy approach him."

Ron sighed heavily, then glanced back at their visitor who stood with arms crossed, staring at the investigators, "Alright. Fine," he said to him, returning to his full height and gaining an aggressively reserved stance.

"Good," Draco glinted. "When are we going?"

"Now is as good as ever," Harry gave while pushing himself up from his seat.

The white-haired man exchanged contemptuous looks with the redhead as the lead auror strolled past them and out the door. Ron picked up his feet quickly to beat Draco out the door, ignoring the other man's disgruntled snarl.

Azkaban was not only a horrid place to be kept, but an extremely unpleasant place to visit. The handfuls of witches and wizards taxed with guarding the place were thought to be of the least amiable law-abiding magical folk known. After being in the prison once or twice, it was no wonder they had become so either.

The very energy of the castle seemed to seep into your innermost parts, tugging at whatever evil may be hidden in your core. There had been other, smaller facilities for holding criminal wizards yet fear of disrupt from their attempts at escape forced the Ministry to relocate nearly every dark wizard or suspect to Azkaban.

The aurors despised being even near the location, but it was an unfortunate duty that they were willing to endure in order to keep the magical community safe. As the trio entered the gates, it appeared that even Draco was unsettled.

Since the capture of Gerald and his vampire counterpart, there had been no report or hint of trouble. Though both Harry and Ron were curious as to how the hold was treating him with his fragile psyche and all. Slowly, they were let through the passages and blocks of Azkaban until reaching the isolated unit where the dark wizard was. And they heard him before actually seeing him. Yet it wasn't threats or the raving cries of the madmen who frequented the prison. Instead, what caught the aurors' and their companion's ears...was singing.

"Wish I was too dead to cry.
My self-affliction fades.
Stones to throw at my creator,
Masochists to which I cater."

Gerald's soft voice seemed raspy. Like he'd been singing for hours without wetting his throat. And he sounded equally tired as if he'd done just that. The aurors looked at the man, sitting on his behind with legs folded over each other in front of him while his arms stayed vouch to his back. His head was down at first, but upon hearing the approaching footsteps, his face rose to see them. The usual black makeup that adorned his eyes was still there, yet smudged. Through it, it was hard to tell exactly what the demon had been feeling, but there was a certain emptiness about him.

"You don't need to bother,
I don't need to be.
I'll keep slipping farther.
And once I hold on,
I won't let go 'till it bleeds."

The dark wizard continued his song as he gazed upon the newcomers. Draco appeared to be taken off guard. It definitely had not been the sight they expected and something of it was quite disheartening. The ex-deatheater gave Harry a confused glance, to which he responded with a quick tilt of his head to urge the man to go forward and speak with his father's murderer.

Gerald's song hadn't ended and he sang through Draco's attempts to converse with him, staring at his victim's son the entire time.

"I wish I had a reason,
My flaws are open season-"

"Do you know who I am?" Malfoy swallowed.

"For this I gave up trying,
One good turn deserves my dying-"

"Listen to me, you slimy-"

"Wish I'd died instead of lived,
A zombie hides my face-"

"Stop that and listen to me!" Draco's voice raised, half-growling and half-crying as he stepped nearer the bars separating him from Gerald.

The singing ceased. Gerald, eyes having remained on Draco the entire time, finally answered, "You look just like your father...on the outside."

The young Malfoy swallowed again, trying to focus his thoughts, "You killed him, you bastard! And you trapped him here. Let. Him. Go!" he ordered.

Gerald didn't move except for his vision, stealing a glance at Harry before replying, "You know, I find it very interesting that I'm the bad guy here. Between Lucius and myself, that is."

"How do I set him free?!" Draco demanded, ignoring the nonchalant behavior.

"You would think it'd be considered a favor," Gerald ignored him in turn. "Potter, you turned out to be a strange character indeed."

Both Draco and Ron cut their eyes at Harry whose face had curled into one of curiosity and confusion. None of them could tell what the point of Gerald's rambling was. Perhaps he'd officially cracked.

"We're not here to talk about me," the auror answered, trying to brush it off. "How do we release Lucius from this curse?"

Gerald tilted his head backward so far that his neck stretched, showing his Adam's apple more prominently than usual. He let out an eerie chuckle before looking back up at his visitors with an evil smirk, "There's nothing I can do about that," he shook his head, keeping the grin, "Lucius made his own bed. It's up to him to wake up."

The answer was obviously unsatisfactory. Draco closed the rest of the distance between himself and the cell bars, slipping his fingers through the spaces. Doing so bent slightly into the energetic shield that was placed there, prompting him to pull back lest he risk damaging himself or the enclosure.

The prisoner stopped smiling then, his eyes resting heavily upon the wizard currently thirsting for his blood, "You know, Draco," his tone had softened immensely, "It's a pity that you waste your love on him," Gerald's eyes fell from the Slytherin and darted back and forth across the floor, "But if your father would swallow his pride long enough for it, you'd see that he does truly love you as well...in the best way his mind is capable of."

Once again, it seemed that Gerald had become lost in his memories. Was he thinking of his own father? His mother? Maybe it was something else entirely...but before the aurors or Malfoy could prepare an appropriate response, anything to help them figure things out, the dark wizard continued.

"It hurts when someone is so singularly focused that they can't properly see you," he stated, "Like I said, it is Lucius' own doing that will free him from his current predicament."

Draco stood there, awkwardly staring at the man in chains, his chest heaving and his face scrunched in contemplation. It was difficult for the others to tell if he was enraged, agitated, of some other powerful emotion. At any rate, it seemed the wizard had taken to trying to think things through before acting out, as he had been prone to do so irrationally.

Harry likewise considered what had been said before deciding what should be done. He wasn't sure if Gerald was messing around, but it didn't feel like that. Before when he had playfully skirted issues, he'd never said so much. It sent the auror to repeating what he had said to them.

He hadn't confessed or denied having killed Lucius, only hinted that he wasn't as evil as the deceased. Otherwise, he'd only reiterated that it was within Lucius' own power to free himself. And then was the bit about loving his son...needing to swallow his pride...

"Gerald," Harry began on a whim, realizing the answers weren't going to be revealed straight-forwardly, "You're saying Lucius is here of his own volition?"

The dark wizard cocked his head to the side, "More or less."

Vague. But the auror had relaxed enough at this point, knowing their case was dwindling. So he had the patience to play this game.

"Does he know this?" Harry tried again.

Gerald smiled then, seeing that the auror had picked up on his mood. Whether that mood was boredom or insanity was still unclear, "He should. I did always chide him on his fatal flaw."

Flaw. His pride?

"I suppose then, if he held you responsible for where he is now...he would have an idea," Harry stared plainly. He didn't really expect a confession yet felt it was in their best interest to try.

Gerald's grin grew to show the tips of his teeth, making the others realize they had never seen such a joyful expression on him before. It was a might disturbing especially knowing the subject that had brought it about.

Draco and Ron had fallen away from the conversation, quietly observing the lead investigator's dialogue with the prisoner. They knew Harry was onto something. However, they didn't appear to understand what.

Harry twisted his neck and nodded at both his partner and old classmate before spinning around and beginning to leave. Malfoy opened his mouth in protest, only emitting a short grunt as Ron followed after the other auror, forcing the last of the trio to do the same. As they turned the corner, the song from before began echoing behind them.

"You don't need to bother...
I'll keep slipping farther...
I'll never live down my deceit..."

As the lyrics came again, Draco switched an angry glare to Harry, "What was that about, Potter? Why are we leaving?"

"He told us how to help your father," Harry said, "You're not going to get anything more specific from him."

"You figured it out, mate? Was it the crap about loving Draco?" the redhead didn't bother ignoring the shade.

"Not exactly," the lead auror replied, "He wants Lucius to stop being prideful. Admit something."

"Admit what?" Draco's aggravation grew.

"It must be something to do with Gerald," Ron thought, "But what? Outside of saying he didn't kill him, which we know he did, what could be so important?"

"I'm not sure it is necessarily important. I think it may be just how his magic works," Harry said. "With the finger bones...for their spirits to be released, they had to complete a certain act. Protecting who called upon them. What if for Lucius, it's just sharing something he doesn't want to?"

The sound of the trio's footsteps lessened suddenly. Harry and Ron glanced back and halted when they saw Draco had stopped following them. The ex-deatheater stared blankly before him, a demeanor of helplessness and hurt flowing through and from him.

"Draco? Are you alright?" Harry asked, legitimately worried about the man.

The Slytherin didn't look back at his escorts. He only started walking again with a heavy, rapid pace as he pushed by the aurors, rushing down the dank corridors and fleeing from Azkaban...ignoring the concerned calls sent after him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The song Gerald is singing is 'Bother' by Stone Sour. I've abandoned trying to just use songs that were released before the year the story is set in lol. Here's the music video:

watch?v=Q-pXD0FXLQ8&index=26&list=PLh1fQ2q93H-RWIbHm57loQuULXsiQLcdE